Fright at the Museum
by Fegerrific
Summary: A letter from an old friend sends the gang to the Coolsville History Museum, where a cursed mummy plagues a new exhibit. Locked in the museum overnight, the gang must sort out between truth and lies to uncover the secret behind this bandaged bandit!
1. The Mummy's Curse

**(A/N: This story contains characters from _What Lurks in the Labyrinth)_**

Demetrius Demas, a dark-skinned man wearing a grey polo shirt and paint-splattered jeans, hummed tunelessly as he gently placed a canopic jar on a pedestal before covering it with a glass case. He stroked his greying goatee and squinted in the low light before unearthing another jar from its Styrofoam peanut tomb.

Demetrius' assistant, a young man named Nick Vardos, stumbled through the maze of crates up to the front of the exhibit hall. "Why's it so dark in here?" he mumbled, lifting up the bottoms of his sweatpants to keep from tripping as he picked his way around the hall. "And so hot?" He pulled up the hem of his shabby grey T-shirt to dab at the sweat soaking his forehead.

"Ms. Walker believes that it will 'set the mood' of an Egyptian tomb," snickered Demetrius. "People really try to understand our line of work, but it always comes out looking like a Melbourne O'Reilly film."

Nick cast his eyes around the gloomy room, the low lights throwing up grotesque, deformed shadows. "Or a Vincent van Ghoul special," he murmured, tiptoeing around the stone sarcophagus that was to be the main centerpiece. "This place gives me the creeps."

Demetrius waved his assistant over to the largest crate of the bunch. "Give me a hand with this!" he called. "If we get this thing moved, we can call it a night."

Fine by me," sighed Nick, running his fingers through his damp blonde hair.

Taking a crowbar, Demetrius pried the lid off the crate and let it drop with a muffled thump. As he did so, a low moan echoed through the room. The professor looked up in surprise. "Are you okay? You sounded awful."

Nick cast a wary eye around the room. "That…wasn't me."

Demetrius shot his assistant a stern glare. "It's a little late for jokes, Nick. This better not be one of your monster pranks again."

"I'm serious!" protested Nick. "It wasn't…oh, forget it. Let's get this over with. This place is making us both jumpy."

The professor nodded, clearing the packing peanuts from the crate to reveal a decaying skull wrapped in dried bandages. "The last piece of the exhibit…the ancient mummy of Xa-Oh."

Nick wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Gross lookin' thing, isn't he?"

Demetrius shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. There's a certain beauty in the desiccated flesh, the brittle, yellowing bones, the…ahem, but I suppose now isn't the time."

Nick averted his gaze from the awful creature. "So where's this thing going, anyway?"

Demetrius pointed to the center of the room. "In the sarcophagus, naturally."

Unnoticed by the pair, the mummy's empty eye sockets suddenly glowed red!


	2. Wag My Tail, It's The Mail!

Outside the Mystery Incorporated Headquarters, Scooby dozed in the afternoon sun, dreaming of chasing sandwiches. His legs windmilled through the air as he stalked a wild turkey club through dreamland. The Great Dane licked his lips as the turkey club drew closer and closer. Scooby sniffed, inhaling the sweet smell of…car exhaust?

Scooby awoke with a start, sighing unhappily at the loss of the dream sandwich. Nearby, the mail truck idled as the letter carrier pulled a stack of mail from her bag and dismounted from the truck. "Hey, Scooby-Doo," she grinned, giving him a friendly pat. "You're such a good boy. Here's the mail."

Gently, Scooby took the stack of letters in his mouth and bounded off through the doggie door. "Rail's rere!" Scooby yipped around his mouthful of paper.

"Thanks, Scooby," Velma said, entering the room and giving the faithful hound a scratch behind the ears. She took the mail from his teeth and deposited it onto the table to sort. Avoiding the drool spots, she slit open the first envelope. "Hmmm…bills, more bills...Fred's _Traps Illustrated..._" she mumbled, tossing aside a few envelopes and picking up a pink postcard emblazoned with a cartoon stork. "It's A Girl," she read. "Madison Rae Squall…six pounds, twenty-six inches…how exciting!"

Scooby nosed Velma's hand. "Ranything ror re?" he barked. Absently, Velma passed down a Scooby Snack from the nearby snack jar. While Scooby munched happily, Velma slit open the last envelope.

"Professor Demetrius?" she murmured, pulling out a folded sheet of notebook paper from the envelope. " 'My dear Velma,' " she read aloud. " 'Thank you for all of your help in Greece. It was a pleasure seeing you again and I appreciate you helping out. However, I'm afraid I must ask for your help again. I have been in Egypt, excavating the 'cursed' tomb of the pharaoh Xa-Oh. Now that it is finished, I will be travelling the world with a museum exhibit about the pharaoh's curse. We will make our first stop at the Coolsville History Museum. I would really appreciate if you could come by and keep an eye out for anything strange. The exhibit will be in Coolsville on…' Jinkies, that's next week! I've got to tell the rest of the gang!"

Velma dropped the letter and vanished into the other room. Scooby took advantage of her absence to snitch another snack from the jar.


	3. A Missing Mummy

The Mystery Machine screeched to a halt in front of the Coolsville History Museum, a majestic tower of marble stretching up to the star-decked night sky. Towering columns supported a pointed pediment containing sculpted figures depicting the founding of Coolsville. Stretched across the pediment and lit by a bright spotlight was a banner decorated with crude hieroglyphics. "Hauntings and Hieroglyphics: The Curse of Pharaoh Xa-Oh," it read

The gang piled out of the van and joined the crowd surging up the front steps. Inside the cavernous lobby, a silver fountain bubbled merrily, its splashing song mingling with the murmurs of the crowd. A uniformed security guard directed patrons through red velvet curtains into the exhibit hall.

The hall had been transformed into the Hollywood version of an Egyptian tomb. The walls had been covered with gold curtains printed with hieroglyphics while dim lights equipped with flickering effects mimicked a torch-lit hallway. At the front of the hall, a stone sarcophagus, the final resting place of Xa-Oh, stood as an imposing sentinel.

Over in the corner, Professor Demetrius, dressed in a charcoal-grey suit that accented his mocha skin, waved the gang over as they entered. "Thanks for coming," he murmured. "I figure that nothing will happen, but…"

"Professor," came an urgent whisper. The gang turned to see Nick Vardos, dressed in a cyan button down shirt and khakis, racing towards them, his blue-striped tie streaming behind him. "Professor, the mummy of Xa-Oh…is GONE!"

Demetrius moaned, cradling his head in his hands. "I'm dreaming. Please tell me I'm dreaming." Scooby reached over with a paw and gave Demetrius' arm a gentle pinch. "Ow! What was THAT for, Scooby?"

"Rou raren't reaming," the dog replied.

Demetrius rolled his eyes. "Now that we've established that, we need to tell Ms. Walker. She's the curator and she'll know what to do."

"I'm not sure that's necessary," Fred interrupted. "Why don't we just ask Nick where he hid the mummy."

"Hey!" Nick protested furiously. "I may have a record, but it wasn't me! I've stolen nothing this time!"

"Let's not start pointing fingers," Velma interjected. "There's a chance that it just ended up in the wrong place or it was moved accidentally."

"L-like I th-think I f-found it," Shaggy stammered, his hair spiking in fright.

Demetrius turned to the lanky sleuth. "Great. See, problem solved. Where is it?"

Shaggy pointed with a shaking finger. "Like, r-right there!"

Shambling into the exhibit hall was a hideous, mummified figure. Torn and rotted bandages hung loosely from its outstretched arms as it slowly shuffled towards the crowd. Its skeletal jaw swung open as it let out an unearthly moan that echoed through the hall. The patrons milling about looked up at the sound of the creature. Someone screamed and the hall erupted in panic. In the mad rush for the exit that ensued, the mummy vanished.

In the aftermath of the mummy's disappearance, the gang surveyed the empty room strewn with trash and debris. Wineglasses that had been dropped or crushed underfoot littered the floor with tiny shards of glass and bright purple stains. Museum brochures and exhibit pamphlets lay crumpled on the carpet. "What a mess," Nick murmured, kicking at a stray pamphlet.

"Yeah," came a snarl. "And it's probably mah job ta clean it up!"

The gang turned to see a tall, slender man approaching. He had straight brown hair and a prominent cleft on his chin. Embroidered in white thread on his black button-down shirt was the name Hank. His long legs were encased in stained black pants and he wore thick-soled black boots that squeaked. "Who are you?" asked Velma curiously.

"Who d'ya think?" he muttered. "I'm the janitor, Hank Fisher. Ugh, this is gonna take all night ta clean up!"

"Can we help?" Fred asked. "This looks like quite a job for one person."

Hank looked up in surprise. "Not many people ever…**offer **to help. Thanks, but I can't ask you to do that. Liability wouldn't allow it."

"Besides, we need to find Ms. Walker," Demetrius interjected, "and see what we can find out from her." The gang left the exhibit hall as Hank began his arduous task.


	4. Je Parle Six Langues

As the gang wandered through the museum, calling for Ms. Walker, a well toned, imposing security guard approached them, blocking their path. His navy blue uniform was crisply pressed; a utility belt containing a walkie-talkie and a pair of handcuffs was wrapped snugly around his waist. Pinned to his chest was a silver badge that read 'Officer Benson.'

"And where do you think you're going?" he sneered. "The museum is closed, so I'll need to escort you all out."

The professor stepped forward and extended his hand. "Officer Benson, I'm Professor Demetrius, the archaeologist in charge of the mummy exhibit, and we need to see Ms. Walker right away."

Benson gave Demetrius' extended hand a withering sneer. "After that embarrassing mummy fiasco, I'm shocked you even want to show your face around here."

"Excuse me, officer," Daphne sighed in an airy voice. "We just need you to escort us to Ms. Walker's office." She sidled forward and placed a hand on Benson's chest. "You surely can do that for us?" Tracing her finger up the officer's chest, she looked up into his face and batted her eyes "Can't you?"

"Um…well…uh…" Benson stuttered helplessly.

"Benson!" came a sharp retort, causing everyone to jump. A woman about Velma's height approached the gang. Her disheveled white-blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and an irritated frown crossed her face. "What's going on here?"

Benson sprang to a salute. "I was just escorting these trespassers out, Ms. Walker."

"Trespassers?" the curator snapped. "This is Professor Demetrius. He's the one in charge of the mummy exhibit. And the others are the sleuths of Mystery Incorporated, who I hope are here to help us with this mummy problem we currently have. Don't you have duties, Benson?"

The officer nodded clumsily, his head bobbing like a spring-loaded jack-in-the-box. "Yes, Ms. Walker," he murmured, turning on his heel and vanishing into the museum.

The curator shook her head at the retreating officer. "Benson. More brawn than brains, that one. Anyway, I'm Annie Walker, the curator here at the museum. And, as I'm sure you've gathered, we have a monster problem on our hands. It seems that the curse of Xa-Oh is real after all. I assume that you kids are here to help?"

"At your service!" Fred declared. "We always get our monster!"

Annie clapped her hands. "Thanks so much. If there's anything you need, please ask. I'll be happy to answer any questions"

"I have one, Ms. Walker," Velma called. Who arranged all the details of the exhibit's coming?"

"It's Annie, Velma," she corrected automatically. "And that would have been…uh, Mr. Anderson down in Acquisitions, but he's on vacation this week." She motioned the gang away from the exhibit hall. "Let's go to my office."

Annie led the gang to her second-floor office, a large room containing a carved walnut desk covered with papers and file folders. A large window covered by mini-blinds overlooked the museum's lobby. "Sorry about the mess," she mumbled, hastily stacking up the scattered papers. Fred's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a few envelopes stamped with 'FINAL NOTICE' in Annie's stack of papers. "Here's the file about the exhibit, and…" The phone jangled suddenly. "Sorry, I have to take this." She picked up the receiver. "Annie Walker, Coolsville History Museum." Almost instantly, she switched to rapid-fire Russian and carried on a long conversation before finally, hanging up the phone. "Sorry, that was Curator Stas from Russia; I was…negotiating the return of some of our artifacts from the Hermitage."

"You speak Russian?" Daphne asked, impressed.

Annie shrugged. "Enough to get by. Anyway, that file should have all the answers you need. Let me know if you need anything else. The museum's closed for the night, I'm afraid, but you're welcome to stay and search for clues. If you stay, there's no way out of the museum until morning."

"S-stay h-ere?" Shaggy shuddered. "All n-night? With that mummy on the loose? No way!"

One bribe of Scooby Snacks later, the gang watched as Officer Benson locked them in the museum for the night. The doors shut with a CLANG that echoed of finality throughout the museum.

"All right, gang, we've got the whole museum to ourselves and all night to search for clues," Fred announced.

"Let's split up, gang," chorused Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby in unison.

Fred stiffened and fell to the floor in a faint. "You broke my catchphrase," he mumbled into the tile.


	5. Of Files, Folders and Fears

After reviving Fred, the gang split up. Shaggy and Scooby 'volunteered' to explore the museum hallways for any clues, while Velma, Fred and Daphne offered to examine the mummy exhibit, beginning with Annie's files. The trio gathered around the exhibit file and spread it out on the receptionist's desk.

"Let's see if we can uncover any answers here," Velma said, flipping absently through the pages. "Hmmm…this is Mr. Anderson's vacation request form," she murmured, picking up a half-sheet of white cardstock and read aloud. " 'A. Anderson…Acquisitions Department...' Well, all the dates are in order. And it's signed and notarized properly," she said, noting Anderson's illegible scrawl and Annie's flowery script on the proper lines.

"But what's this?" Daphne asked, pointing to a hand-scrawled, double-underlined word at the top-left corner. " 'August,' " she read. "Why would it say August? It's nowhere near August!"

Velma shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I don't know," she mused. "But I can't wait to find out. Anything else of use here?"

"Here's a list of everything that's supposed to be in the exhibit," Fred declared, snatching up a yellow carbon form. "We should go make sure that everything is in order."

The trio of teenaged sleuths traipsed through the darkened hallways of the museum. Suddenly, the gang heard footsteps echoing through the hall. Fred put his finger to his lips and tiptoed towards the sound; Velma and Daphne followed close behind. "Whatever it is, it's getting closer…" whispered Velma.

"Hold on," Daphne murmured. "I recognize that sound. That's the sound of size six heels on marble flooring." Velma and Fred stared at Daphne with expressions of incredulity. "What?" she protested. "I know my shoes! And I also know that Annie Walker was wearing a pair when we saw her this evening."

"And look, there's Annie now," Fred whispered, pointing at the curator's approaching figure. Annie pulled out a card from her pocket and swiped it through a magnetic reader by a door marked, 'Restricted Area.' As the reader's light glowed green, the curator stealthily ducked through the door.

"Told you so," Daphne replied. "I enjoy being a girl."

"I wonder what she's doing back here?" Velma mused. "Or did she ever leave?"

Fred shook his head. "Well, we're not going to find out by just standing here. Let's go."


	6. Who 'Ghosts' There?

Shaggy and Scooby crept through the museum hallways with only a dim flashlight for company. "Like, really, why do we put up with this? Creepy museum displays, spooky dead pharaohs; I don't think our luck could get any worse!"

Suddenly, a low moan sounded from somewhere in the museum. Shaggy howled and leaped into Scooby's arms in fright. Hearing footsteps, the dog-and-detective duo stood stock-still, too afraid to move as the footsteps came closer…and closer…

"Who's there?" came a rough voice. "Show yourself!" A flashlight beam shined around the corner, followed by the imposing form of Officer Benson. "Oh, it's you," he muttered. "First, I'm expected to guard these musty old relics, and now I'm a babysitting service for nosy kids." With a vicious snarl, the security guard turned and stormed away.

"Zoinks, like, what a grouch," Shaggy said to his pet. "Well, as long as we're stuck here, we might as well see if we can find some food."

"Reah! Reah! Rack bar!" Scooby barked excitedly.

The pair rounded around a corner, only to run into the shadowy bandage-wrapped figure of the mummy! It let out a low moan and shambled towards them. Scooby and Shaggy screamed in horror and raced away. The mummy followed, inexorably gaining on them with each step of its bandaged feet.


	7. Old Nick

"With this list, we should be able to determine if anything's missing in the 'Hauntings and Hieroglyphics' exhibit," Fred proclaimed, entering the gloomy exhibit hall.

Velma produced a pencil from her pocket. "Call out what you see and I'll mark it off," she said. "Hold on, what's that?" A strange rumbling sound was emanating from the corner of the hall.

"Sounds like Scooby's stomach," Daphne quipped.

Fred crept towards the sound. "No, I think it's…snoring?" He took a few steps towards the corner and discovered the sleeping form of Nick Vardos slumped in the corner. "Nick?" he asked, causing the young man to wake up with a start. "What are you doing here?"

"Okay, you caught me," he yawned sleepily. "I snuck back in here so I could capture the mummy and prove my innocence. But it was so dark and warm in here that I ended up falling asleep."

The trio regarded the young man suspiciously. "Uh-huh," Velma said. "Now why don't you tell us what you were really doing?"

"It's the truth!" Nick burst out savagely. "Why won't you believe me?"

The gang was spared from answering by the untimely arrival of Shaggy and Scooby tearing into the hall, screaming and yelping in fright!

"What's gotten into you two?" Fred scolded.

"Like…mummy! Like…right…behind us," panted Shaggy breathlessly. "We'd better hide, Scoob!" The duo quickly leaped behind an oversized planter and arranged the dusty fake greenery to cover themselves.

From outside the exhibit hall came the sound of scraping footsteps. "What's going on in here?" came the familiar snarl of Officer Benson. He entered the hall, his flashlight sweeping furiously across the gang's faces. "I heard yelling and screaming, and then that lanky clown and his dog come out of nowhere, almost run over me and race in here like a couple of buffoons."

"Did you see the mummy?" Daphne asked. "They said they were being chased!"

Benson rolled his eyes. "I didn't see any mummy, just those two dorks!"

"Hmmm…" Velma murmured. "Interesting that the mummy just…vanished like that…and then you just **happened** to show up…"

The security guard took a threatening step towards the bespectacled sleuth. "What are you insinuating?" he hissed furiously. "If you're suggesting for **one moment** that I'm the mummy…" Leaving his threat unfinished, he turned and stalked away.

"Jeepers, what's his problem?" Daphne asked as Shaggy and Scooby clambered out from behind the planter.

"Oh, he's just a jerk," Nick muttered. "He came in here and blustered for twenty minutes when he found me. Threatened to have me arrested for trespassing before he remembered that I helped set up the exhibit."

"Hmm…he might've had the right idea for once," Velma muttered under her breath.

Nick glared at Velma "I heard that! Fine, don't trust me," he snarled. "I'll capture the mummy and prove it to all of you." The young assistant turned and stormed out of the room, muttering a few choice curses.

Fred shook his head in amusement. "I'll believe it when I see it. Let's have a look at this list and see if anything's missing."


	8. Shattered for a Secret

A half-hour later, the gang had exhausted the list and found nothing missing (except the mummy that was currently roaming the museum). "Well, it's a dead end," Daphne moaned.

Shaggy shuddered. "Like, d-do you have to use the word d-dead?"

"Figure of speech, Shaggy," Velma scolded.

"Or what'll happen to us if that mummy finds us in here," he retorted.

"Hey! What are you kids doing in here?!" came a shout from the door.

"Ripes!" Scooby barked "Rit's ra rummy!" He and Shaggy bolted away, only to be stopped by Fred's intervening arm.

"Don't worry, you two chickens. It's only Mr. Fisher, the night janitor."

Hank Fisher strode in the door, his black shoes squeaking on the tile. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you. I forgot that Ms. Walker told me you would be staying the night. Thought you were some troublemaking miscreants wreaking havoc in here. Have you found anything that might help?"

"We have a lot of suspects, but not too many clues, I'm afraid," Fred declared sadly. "We've hit a dead end."

"Rhere's rhat word ragain!" Scooby mumbled in annoyance. Daphne gave Scooby a glare that clearly communicated to shut up.

"I'll be glad to help you all in any way that I can," Hank replied. "I'll be around if you need me." He rolled his mopping cart through the exhibit hall. As it rolled, the wheel jammed on a loose tile, sending the mop crashing through a display pedestal containing a canopic jar.

Hank sank to his knees in despair. "I'm so getting fired for this," he moaned.

While Velma and Daphne consoled the sobbing janitor, Shaggy picked around the shattered fragments of the pedestal to get to the remains of the jar. "It's only, like, a little destroyed," he said with a grin. He scooped up the pieces and tried to reassemble them. "Like, personally, I think these cracks give it more character." Eager to help, Scooby leaned over and scooted a few pieces in place with his tail. "Good eye, Scoob! Look, you can even, like, read the hieroglyphics!"

Fred bent over the repair project. "Those aren't hieroglyphics!" he exclaimed. "Those are letters! If this thing is Egyptian, then I'm a monkey's uncle."

"What does it say, Fred?" Velma asked curiously.

" 'Made in Taiwan,' " he replied, puzzled.

Velma did a double take. "Jinkies! It's a FAKE!" she cried.

"Fake?" Daphne echoed. "So what does that mean?"

"It means one mystery has become two," Fred declared.


	9. Menace at Mummy Museum

While Hank recovered in the corner of the room, the gang examined each artifact in the exhibit as carefully as possible.

"Every artifact!" Velma exclaimed in disgust, setting down a cracked amphora. "They're all FAKES!"

"So where are the real ones?" Fred mused thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure. We need to find Ms. Walker if she's still here. She might be our only hope!"

The gang raced out of the exhibit hall and into the Arms and Armor exhibit in the next room. The wide hall was decorated to resemble a medieval castle. Suits of armor standing at attention lined one wall, while the other wall featured wicked and deadly-looking weapons covered with rust and a substance that looked suspiciously like blood. In the middle of the room, surrounded by wooden chairs occupied by seated suits of armor, was a scarred wooden table filled with fake food. (Shaggy and Scooby found this out the hard way) Moonlight shone through the large stained-glass window, casting the room in an eerie, colored glow. As the gang crept through the exhibit, they soon found that they were no longer alone…

"Jeepers, it's the mummy!" screeched Daphne.

With a vicious snarl, the bandaged creature grabbed a sword from the wall and swung it in a deadly arc. Advancing towards the gang, the mummy swiped wildly, forcing the sleuths back towards the exhibit.

"What's all the noise?" came the melodious voice of Annie Walker. The mummy turned with a growl as the curator entered on the scene. Before she even had a chance to scream, the mummy grabbed her and pulled her into his mildewed embrace, placing a bandaged hand over her mouth. Annie struggled against the mummy's powerful arms until the creature placed its sword against her milky-white neck. The curator's hazel eyes widened with fear as the mummy dragged her out of the exhibit hall.

Fred recovered first. "Quick! After them!" he shouted, taking off after the creature and its prisoner. But as the gang raced out of the hall, they found that the mummy had vanished, taking Annie with it!


	10. The Mummy's Purse

"Okay, gang," Fred declared. "Annie's been taken by the mummy and it's up to us to find her! Scooby, can you sniff her out?"

The faithful hound put his nose to the ground and sneezed instantly. "Come on, Scoob. Be a bloodhound, not a dud-hound!"

Scooby reluctantly nosed the ground again. "Rover rere!" he yipped triumphantly, sniffing out the trail. "Rollow re!"

The gang followed Scooby through the labyrinthine corridors of the museum. "It feels like we've been walking in circles," Daphne moaned.

"I hate to say it," Velma sighed. "But I think we're lost again."

"Ruh-uh!" barked Scooby emphatically. "Ris way!"

"Uh, Scooby, that way leads to a dead end," Shaggy pointed out. "I think your sniffer way be losing its touch."

"Ruh-uh! Ris way!"

Shaggy sighed. "Like, Scoob, we've been walking for, like, ever. Let's take a breather." Shaggy leaned against the wall and instantly fell backwards as a hidden switch depressed. With a low hiss, the dead end wall swung open on hidden hinges, revealing a dark, dusty passageway.

"Good work, Shaggy!" Fred exclaimed, striding through the secret passageway with Daphne and Velma.

"Oh, lucky me," muttered Shaggy as he and Scooby reluctantly followed the gang inside.

"Like, man, this place is decorated in, like, early Halloween," Shaggy murmured, admiring the cobwebbed walls and floor. Each step the gang took threw up billowing clouds of dust and dirt.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been down here for months!" Fred coughed.

"Oh, I think someone has," Velma wheezed, bending down to examine the floor. "A certain someone wearing size six heels has been down here. Quite recently, in fact."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Daphne said, confused.

"Unless I miss my guess, it makes perfect sense. Come on!"

The gang traipsed through the dusty, cobwebbed passageway with only a feeble flashlight beam to guide them. "We must be somewhere under the museum," declared Velma.

Daphne shuddered in disgust as she picked a stray cobweb strand from her red hair. "What is this place, even?"

Fred swept his flashlight beam along the dusty passageway. "Not sure," he replied. "It might've been old storage space that was abandoned during construction."

"But now I think it's being used as a hideout for old Gauze-Face," said Velma. "Look over here!"

She and the rest of Mystery Incorporated dashed over to a shadowy form in the corner of the hallway. Fred waved his flashlight beam over the form, illuminating a massive pile of treasure! The light played and shimmered over golden coins, black and tan amphorae as well as dusty old canopic jars. And directly in the center of the hoard sat the decayed, mummified body of Pharaoh Xa-Oh!

"Jeepers! The entire fortune of the Pharaoh is here!" Daphne squealed.

Velma placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the haul with suspicion. "Just as I thought," she proclaimed. "I knew we weren't dealing with a real mummy! In fact, I think I've got a pretty good idea of what's been going on here. But we'll need to catch this bandaged bandit to be sure!"

Shaggy gulped loudly. "Well, th-then, l-like here's your ch-chance!" he stammered, pointing with a shaking finger at the snarling form of the mummy!

With a shout of horror, the gang dashed away in fright with the mummy hot on their tails!


	11. Start the Music, Scoob!

**(A/N: Chase scenes are REALLY HARD to write. So, to get the full Scooby experience, I suggest you turn up the jams and play some epic, rockin' music, looping it until you finish reading this passage. I really hope this is as cool in real life as it was in my head. Let me know...)**

After emerging from the bowels of the museum, Mystery Incorporated quickly split up; Fred, Velma and Daphne head towards the Arms and Armor exhibit, while Shaggy and Scooby make a beeline towards the Prehistoric Wing. As expected, the mummy follows Shaggy and Scooby.

In the prehistoric wing, Shaggy and Scooby disguise themselves as a Neanderthal man and a saber-toothed Great Dane, respectively. The mummy does not notice them until they dash away, leaving their costumes behind. With a roar, the mummy turns and lumbers after them.

Fred, Velma and Daphne race through the Arms and Armor exhibit with the mummy directly behind them. With false bravado, Fred grabs a spear from the wall and threatens the mummy with it. The mummy simply smirks. The bandaged creature grabs a rusty sword from the wall and, with one swipe, chops the spear in two! Fred drops the spear and runs away.

The gang runs into each other (literally) in a museum corridor and Velma loses her glasses in the shuffle. While the rest of the gang runs away, Velma is left stumbling for her glasses. The mummy puts them on the sleuth's face, causing her to run away as fast as possible.

As the gang races past the snack bar, Shaggy and Scooby skid to a halt, snatching up ingredients to make two overly-large sandwiches. When the mummy reaches them, the hungry duo runs away, but quickly return to save the sandwiches.

Once the gang returns to the Egyptian exhibit hall, they realize that they are no longer being chased. They mysterious music that has been playing in the background comes to a swift halt.


	12. Setting the Trap

"Well, gang! It's time to set a trap!" Fred proclaimed.

"Ruh-roh!" Scooby yipped, cowering behind Shaggy's legs.

"For this trap, we'll only need one of you. So you can decide amongst yourselves."

Shaggy gave a low, formal bow. "After you, Scooby-Doo!"

"Ruh-uh. Rafter rou!"

"I insist, Scooby."

"Ruh-uh! Rou go!"

Bemused, Fred, Velma and Daphne watched the exchange for a while before finally realizing that no decision would ever be made. "Guys, did I mention that whoever volunteers gets a WHOLE BOX of Scooby Snacks?" Velma taunted, pulling out a box and shaking it tantalizingly.

Moments later, Scooby sulked while Fred, Velma and Daphne suited Shaggy up for the trap. "Like, you sure this'll work?" asked Shaggy hesitantly.

"It's very simple," replied Fred. "You know what to do when the mummy comes in, right?"

"Gulp! Like, I think I'm ready. Let's go."

The gang, minus Shaggy, entered into the Egyptian exhibit hall. "Well, it sure is great that the exhibit will be opening for business again!" Fred called loudly as he removed a glass case from a display pedestal.

"I hope there will be lots of people to come and see all these artifacts!" Daphne almost shouted.

With a snarl and a hiss, the mummy shambled into the exhibit hall. "Oh no! It is the mummy!" moaned Velma unconvincingly. The creature shuffled menacingly towards the gang, its rotting arms outstretched as if to grab them in its horrible clutches.

An otherworldly moan made the mummy look back in shock. Standing in the exhibit hall was another mummy! It moaned and meandered threateningly towards the bandaged creature menacing the gang.

"No!" the mummy shouted with a decidedly human voice, backing away quickly from this new threat. "It…it can't be. I'm the m-mummy. Y-you're f-fake!" The new mummy quickened its pace towards the impostor. "No! Please! I-I…" the impostor mummy stumbled and fell backwards into the stone sarcophagus with a scream. Fred dashed up and, with the help of the girls, hefted the lid onto the sarcophagus, trapping the creature inside.

The new mummy undid his wrappings to reveal the human face of Shaggy Rogers! "Well done, Shag," Fred said with an approving nod.

"We…uh…might want to tell someone that we're out of toilet paper in the men's room now," the lanky sleuth chuckled.

Fred snickered. "Maybe later." A loud, panicked banging echoed from inside the sarcophagus. "For now, let's see who this mummy is." While Shaggy and Velma hefted the lid off the sarcophagus, Fred and Daphne grabbed the mummy and tied it up with its own bandages.


	13. The Mystery Is Revealed!

"I think it's that cranky old security guard," Shaggy declared.

"WHAT!?" Benson shouted, striding into the room. "I'M an officer of the law. Never committed a crime in my life, and I'm NOT about to start now!"

"Well, then I'll bet it's Hank the janitor!" proclaimed Fred with certainty. But the telltale squeak of shoes on tile quickly proved Fred wrong as Hank, accompanied by Annie Walker, entered the exhibit hall,

"Hey, you caught the monster!" she exclaimed. "That creep that locked me in the storage closet, but Hank found me!"

"Hmmm…if it's not Hank, then something tells me that it's sneaky Nick Vardos again," Daphne said.

At that moment, Nick jogged into the room, followed by Professor Demetrius. "It's not me, either," he replied.

"Well, then who is it?" Daphne asked in desperation, realizing they had exhausted their suspect roster.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Fred asked, unwrapping the bandages from the mummy's face to reveal a scowling man with short black hair. "I have no idea who this is."

"And I'm not talking," the man snarled furiously.

"No problem," Velma shrugged. "I think we can get to the bottom of this without your help. Unless I miss my guess, he's August Anderson from the department of Acquisitions — the only one who could have orchestrated this whole scheme. Pulling the necessary strings to get Demetrius' exhibit to the museum was only the first part. While the artifacts were in storage, August replaced them with cheap copies from the gift shop. And I'll bet my glasses that the originals are all down in the secret passageway, along with the real mummy, to be sold on the black market!"

"Amazing! But how did you figure all this out?" Benson asked, pulling August to his feet and fastening handcuffs on his bandaged wrists.

"It's simple. This Vacation Request form was the clue. It was marked A. Anderson and, handwritten in the corner was the word August. It's the middle of March, so it was simple deduction to assume that August was A. Anderson's first name. It was probably earmarked to go in his personal file, but was mistakenly included with the exhibit paperwork instead. He was afraid that the exhibition would ruin his plans, so the mummy had to become real to keep everyone from discovering his deception. So, he faked going on vacation so he could disguise himself as the mummy without ever being a suspect."

"Ingenious…" Annie murmured incredulously. "What a plan. I'm surprised at you, August!"

"Oh, I don't really think you're that surprised," Velma accused. "The two of you were working together on this, am I right?" Annie tried to run, but Benson grabbed her and held her tight.

"How did you know?" Annie demanded.

"After we saw you get kidnapped by the mummy, we had Scooby sniff out your trail. If you had really been 'kidnapped,' as you said, Scooby's sniffer would have led us straight to the storage closet. But instead, he led us to a secret passageway under the museum, where we found footprints in the passageway —footprints matching your size six heels."

"You kids really thought of everything," Annie sighed as Benson fastened handcuffs on her wrists.

"Yeah, and we'd have got away scot-free if not for you meddling kids," August snarled as he and Annie were led away by Benson.

Hank watched sadly as the two criminals were taken away. "Hard to believe it was those two," he sighed. "This means that we're out a curator and a head of the acquisitions department."

Velma thought for a moment. "Jinkies!" she exclaimed. "What if Professor Demetrius took the job?"

The professor's eyes widened. "Be a curator at a museum? T-that's a dream come true for me! I accept!" he shouted, pumping Hank's hand vigorously.

"And couldn't Nick take over as head of the Acquisitions department?" Daphne asked.

Demetrius nodded. "He's certainly proven his worth as far as I'm concerned. What do you think, Nick? Nick?"

But the excitement of the new job combined with his all-night museum jaunt, however, had caused Nick to fall asleep against the sarcophagus of Xa-Oh. The gang chuckled quietly to not wake up the sleeping young man.

"Scooby-Rooby-Shhhh!" Scooby whispered.


	14. Pawn of Shadows

A willowy blonde woman sat at her desk, holding up two twenty-dollar bills to the light. A knock sounded on the door, and the woman placed the bills on the desk.

"Come in," she called softly.

The door opened with a slight creak and August Anderson and Annie Walker, their hands cuffed behind their backs, were escorted in by Officer Benson.

His face impassive, Benson unfastened the handcuffs from the duo's wrists and stepped aside. "Well, judging from the silver bracelets and police escort, I'm assuming the mission was a success," the woman said with a grin. "Are you ready for this?" August and Annie nodded in unison. "Excellent," the blonde said. "We'll begin the necessary steps immediately. You're dismissed for now. Be sure to report early tomorrow morning. I'll keep in touch." The pair nodded again before vanishing from the room.

"What's going on here?" Benson shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What do you mean by ready?" he asked. "And what does Mystery Incorporated have to do with this?"

"You know what they say about desperate times, Benson…"

The officer sighed in frustration. "I still don't like it," he muttered, taking off his cap and running his hands through his thinning hair.

"You don't have to like it. Just don't interfere." She fixed the officer with a death glare. "I gave you a job when no one else would. I'd rather not regret it. You're dismissed!" She sat down at her desk and began shuffling though some paperwork.

"But I–" Benson began, but the blonde silenced him with a look.

"Dismissed," she reiterated. "Don't make me say it again."

With a worried frown, the officer reluctantly obeyed.


End file.
